Furry creatures in downtown Mishawaka

One of these days somebody in downtown Mishawaka is going to decide IÂ?m crazy and call the police to come and take me away.

I work in the Mishawaka office and on my way to and from my car I talk to the squirrels.

Although with Blue Tooth technology out there, maybe they just think IÂ?m talking on a cell phone.

Anyway, the big fox squirrels around here seem to be used to people. There are also lots of smallish trees for them to escape into.

As a result theyÂ?ll hang around on the side of a tree or in the street as you walk by.

IÂ?m always telling them to "get out of the street."

TheyÂ?re worse than children.

Just this week I stopped a minute to watch a squirrel pushing its head into pachysandra planted outside the office.

Suddenly, another squirrel tail appeared. Then it disappear and a second squirrel head popped up.

Then the whole second squirrel jumped out of the pachysandra.

And the chase was on. Too bad I had to go inside.

They have a keen sense of smell and will eat a lot of things, including nuts, seeds, grain, fruit, berries, bird eggs, insects and roots. They live in hollow trees, leaf nests in trees and occasionally in the attic of a building.